So, what I'm hearing is that this topic makes a lot of people nervous, and I should tread carefully. Challenge accepted, and away we go. 1/https://twitter.com/e_urq/status/1372198406450507778 …
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An older way of speaking invoked a single dramatic, but permanent, shift (Female to Male). And a candidate for upcoming disruption/replacement would be a focus on fluidity (evolving gender identity, all places along the journey respected). 4/
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tangent: Notice how I don't have a single concise phrase to invoke that last example? That's one way we know it's an upcoming/challenging narrative, but not a currently dominant one. 5/
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None of these narratives are "wrong" in the sense that every one resonates with some people. None of them are "right" in the sense that they don't resonate with everyone. 6/
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As a stigmatized minority, we can't expect any of these to be invincible. Remember, transphobes hate us for who we are, not for how we talk about it. (It doesn't mean the process of addressing probs in old language is bad, just don't expect it to have an endpoint.) 7/
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So, when I say that the narrative that resonates most with my experience is that of having a medical condition, I'm not saying it's a narrative without problems, I'm not saying I'm some 'true trans', and I'm not attempting to diminish the experiences of others. 8/
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So, why does this idea of a medical condition feel so apt? Well, it's not bc I'm an uber-binary trans man. If anything, it's somewhat the opposite. I don't really know what people mean by having an internal sense of gender identity. 9/
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When I think about "feeling like a woman" the only thing I can really bring to mind is "the sensation of having breasts and finding it unbearable". When I think about "feeling like a man" that's just big question mark. Whatever these feelings are, I don't think I have them. 10/
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And, on the other hand, I had this very intense, very binary physical discomfort with my pre-transition body, which was eventually followed by a feeling of profound relief on starting testosterone therapy. 11/
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Some thought experiments, to illustrate: If I hadn't had access to medical transition? I wouldn't have changed my name or pronouns. If I were on a deserted island? My desire for medical transition would be unaffected. 12/
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And so, being as I don't really have anything else to root it in, I root my "trans identity" in the medical procedures I undertook to relieve my gender dysphoric symptom (as well as the social meaning those medical procedures have in my culture). 13/
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I'm fascinated by attempts to push back against over-medicalization of trans experience. I'd go so far as to say I'm a fan of such efforts, as long as they don't go to the point of claiming no one will need transition medicine if trans acceptance progresses far enough. 14/
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However, I wrote this thread is bc I think folks can have too much zeal to punish those who aren't resonating with the dominant narrative, whether it's up-and-comers pushing to make their alternative experience known or those who feel comfortable in older narratives. 15/
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Some people will always find "born in the wrong body" a perfect metaphor. Some will always resonate with FTM/MTF sex change language. And, I think the challenge is to find ways to allow different narratives to coexist with critiques of dominant narratives' problem areas. 16/16
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End of conversation
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